Agreement on a constructivist theory of learning is not widespread due largely to what Derry (1996) terms "ethnocentrism within various constructivisms". At the same time, Ernest (1995) notes that, of seven paradigms of constructivism, the positions are all variants of radical constructivism. The outstanding consideration, however, concerns the need as Ernst sees it: "to accommodate the complementarity between individual construction and social interaction" (p.483). Whether knowledge is seen as socially situated or whether it is considered to be an individual construction has implications for the ways in which learning is conceptualized. From the radical constructivist perspective, how can their theory encompass both the collective activity and the individual experience to take into account the important classroom social interactions that are so much a part of the entire educational process? Such questions underlie the complexities involved in translating the diversity of perspectives into a common set of principles that can be operationalized. Yet, as Ernest claims in relation to the varying constructivist perspectives: "there is the risk of wasting time by worrying over the minutiae of differences" (p.459). Perhaps then, the optimal starting point for understanding the constructivist perspective to teaching and learning is to consider what constructivism is not.
Constructivism is often articulated in stark contrast to the behaviorist model of learning. Behaviorial psychology is interested in the study of changes in manifest behavior as opposed to changes in mental states. Learning is conceived as a process of changing or conditioning observable behavior as result of selective reinforcement of an individual's response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment. The mind is seen as an empty vessel, a tabula rasa to be filled or as a mirror reflecting reality. Behaviorism centers on students' efforts to accumulate knowledge of the natural world and on teachers' efforts to transmit it. It therefore relies on a transmission, instructionist approach which is largely passive, teacher-directed and controlled. In some contexts, the term behaviorism is used synonymously with objectivism because of its reliance on an objectivist epistemology. Jonassen (1991) describes the assumptions of an objectivist approach to learning:
Agreement on a constructivist theory of learning is not widespread due largely to what Derry (1996) terms "ethnocentrism within various constructivisms". At the same time, Ernest (1995) notes that, of seven paradigms of constructivism, the positions are all variants of radical constructivism. The outstanding consideration, however, concerns the need as Ernst sees it: "to accommodate the complementarity between individual construction and social interaction" (p.483). Whether knowledge is seen as socially situated or whether it is considered to be an individual construction has implications for the ways in which learning is conceptualized. From the radical constructivist perspective, how can their theory encompass both the collective activity and the individual experience to take into account the important classroom social interactions that are so much a part of the entire educational process? Such questions underlie the complexities involved in translating the diversity of perspectives into a common set of principles that can be operationalized. Yet, as Ernest claims in relation to the varying constructivist perspectives: "there is the risk of wasting time by worrying over the minutiae of differences" (p.459). Perhaps then, the optimal starting point for understanding the constructivist perspective to teaching and learning is to consider what constructivism is not.Constructivism is often articulated in stark contrast to the behaviorist model of learning. Behaviorial psychology is interested in the study of changes in manifest behavior as opposed to changes in mental states. Learning is conceived as a process of changing or conditioning observable behavior as result of selective reinforcement of an individual's response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment. The mind is seen as an empty vessel, a tabula rasa to be filled or as a mirror reflecting reality. Behaviorism centers on students' efforts to accumulate knowledge of the natural world and on teachers' efforts to transmit it. It therefore relies on a transmission, instructionist approach which is largely passive, teacher-directed and controlled. In some contexts, the term behaviorism is used synonymously with objectivism because of its reliance on an objectivist epistemology. Jonassen (1991) describes the assumptions of an objectivist approach to learning:
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